Telephone shoulder rest



Nqv. i, 1949. E. s. SCARLETT ZA$6A38 TELEPHONE SHOULDER REST Filed Nov.23, 1946.

Patented Nov. 1, i949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TELEPHONE SHOULDERREST Eddie s. seal-1m, South Pasadena, Calif. Application November 23,1946, Serial No. I711,887- 1 Claim. (o1. its-r57) This invention relatesto adevice for use with a telephone hand set of the type commonlyemployed with the so-called French type telephone.

The hand set employed with such telephones includes a mouthpiece and anearpiece mounted on a common handle member which is designed to providea convenient grip for the users hand. A disadvantage of this arrangementis that it requires the use of one hand to maintain the hand set inoperative relation with respect to the ear and mouth of the user, andthereby leaving only one hand free for other work; such-as taking notes,writing memorandums, etc.

In business and professional activities, it is,

well known that certain occasions require'that the telephone hand set bemaintained in position by the user for long periods of time whilewaiting for information or while waiting for the desired telephoneconnection. In order to avoid the necessity of holding the hand set inposition manually (which action may produce unnecessary fatigue of theuser) ,various attempts have been made toward providing an attachmentfor the hand set which would enable the telephone user to maintain thedevice in position without requiring the use of one of his hands. Forthe most part these attempts have met with failure since the type ofdevice employed for accomplishing this purpose was either too cum- Ibersome or bulky or interferred with repositioning of the hand setwithin the cradle provided on the stationary part of the telephoneassembly.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of my invention to provide anattachment for a telephone hand set which will enable a user to maintainthe hand set in operative position without requiring the use of eitherof his hands.

Another object is to provide a removable device for attachment to thehandle portion of a telephone hand set, which device is provided with anoutwardly projecting horn adapted to engage the shoulder of thetelephone user and thereby enable the user to maintain the earpiece andmouthpiece in operative position without requiring the use of one of hishands.

Another object is to provide such an attach,-

Other objects and advantages relate to details of construction andmountingofthe device in position on a conventional type of telephone han'set. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating thepreferred embodiment of my invention in position on the shoulder of atelephone user;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional French-typetelephone having a hand set on which my attachment is mounted; Figure 3is a side elevation of a telephone hand set showing details of mountingof the attachmen embodying my invention;

Figure 4 is an end view of the device shown in Figure3; Figure 5 is anenlarged perspective view showing details ofconstruction of theattachment embodying my invention; and Figure 6 is a view showing amodification thereof. Referring to the drawings, the telephone basegenerally indicated at 10 is provided with spaced projections II and I2forming one side of the cradle which supports the hand set IS in itsinoperative position. Duplicate projections are provided on the oppositeside of the cradle and the hand set I3 is adapted to rest between them,as will be readily understood. The bulbous earpiece M on one end of thehand set is connected by means of the central handle portion I 5 to themouthpiece l6 provided on the other end of the hand set.

The support attachment generally designated at H encircles a portion ofthe handle l5 and extends from a position midway of the handle towardthe earpiece M. An outwardly extending horn I8 is provided on the deviceI! which extends in a direction away from the earpiece [4. This horn I 8is adapted to hook over the shoulder of the user in a manner to preventthe hand set from sliding away from operative position when thetelephone user releases his grip from the handle l5. The curved outeredge of the horn is provided with a surface which affords a relativelyhigh coeflicient of friction as is well known in the art. Such a surfaceis indicated by the crossed lines in Figures 1, 2 and 5 of the drawing.

The attachment device I! may be made of any convenient or desirablematerial or composition and may be split longitudinally as indicated atI9 if desired. I have found that a plastic composition, such aspolystyrene, is well suited for this use.

A forward end 20 is contoured to provide a socket fitting-snugly againstthe exterior surface of the earpiece l4 and the rearward portion 2| iscurved to match the exterior surface of the handle l5. An open slot 22is provided between the downwardly extending fingers 23 at the rearwardend of the attachment l1. If the split construction is not employed andthe device formed integrally of a single piece of material, the fingers23 should be resilient to permit separa tion thereof'injadirection tow'ide'nthe slot 22 for the purpose of installing the device I! on thehandle l5. In position the fingers 23 spring back toward the handle toanchor the device I! in position and prevent sliding movement longitur--dinally of the handle. The contoured end i fi whi ch fits snuglyagainst the earpiece f4 prevents-rotary movement about the axis of thehandle l5. If a split construction is employed with a dividing line, asindicated at H], a set screw 24 may be employed for holding the twohalves in assembled relation, and in such event the fingers 23 need notbe of resilient construction. v

An important'feature-in. the construction of the attachment device I!for adapting it to fit snugly on conventional telephone hand sets is theprovision of the webs 25 which extend under the curved portion 26 at theearpiece and of the handle l5. These webs 25 cooperate with the flange21 formed at the extreme forward end of theattachment fitting I tofurther resist any relative motion between the attachment l1 and thehand set 13.

The material employed at the rearward end 2| of the attachment fittingI! is sufficientl-y thin to enable the entire-device, when assembled onthe hand set 13, to fit easily within the cradle provided between thepairs of. upstanding projections II- and i2. The device I1 thereforewhen once installed on the hand set I3 remains in fixed positionrelative thereto and need not be locked'or turned or disconnected whenthe hand set I3 is replaced onthe telephone base I'll. Furthermore, thedevice I! does not interfere with-normal use of. the hand set lit-inthe'event that the telephone user elects to hold it manually in theconventional fashion.

' Inthe modification." showniin Figure 6, aspring wire: 3t) formed in.the shape of a U is bent somewhat atj3=t and "extends inwardly at: 32into a recess 33 provided in the horn tBa. Shallow grooves 34extendoutwardly from thereeess '33 and theportions of the spring wire3'll-between the recess 33 and the bend 3| are adapted to be received inthe groove 34 when the wire is pivoted upwardly about the recess 33 intothe dotted line position shown in Figure 6. The resilience of the wiremaintains the portions 35 and grooves 34 in operative position againstaccidental displacement. This wire provides, in effect, an extension forthe horn l8a in the event that such extension should be necessary ordesirable for use by a particular person or persons. The spring wire 30may pivoted to its inoperative position as shown by the full lines inFigure 6 and in this position it is out of the way and inconspicuous.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my inventionis of the full scope of the appended claim.

l eim attachment for a telephone hand set of the type having an earpieceand a mouthpiece mounted at opposite ends of a common handle, said,attachment comprising a body having first resilient gripping elementslocated to embrace and clamp a portion of the handle therebetween, ahorn on said body providing a shoulder support for thetelephone user,said horn extending in a direction rearwardly away from the earpiece ofthe telephone hand set and being shaped to provide a curvedouter edge toconform to and hook over the shoulder of the user, the said curved outeredge being provided with a surface presenting a relatively highcoefiicient of friction, a socket portion on said body shaped to conformto and contact the rear surface of said earpiece whereby relativerotational movement between said body and said handle is prevented andadditional gripping elements on the socket portion adjacent said firstresilient elements located to cooperate with and clamp the externalsurface of the earpiece adjacent its juncture with said handle wherebyrelative longitudinal movement between said body and. said handle isprevented.

EDDIE S. SCARLETL REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

